The End of Days (of 1st Grade)

So it was just last week (though it already feels ages ago) that Hayden had her last day of first grade. While I'm not sure she learned anything in the last couple weeks of school (there was an awful lot of movie watching and just general disruption due to testing of the older grades), there were several end-of-the-year events that made the last week (or so) extra fun. Some were official, like field day which I volunteered at (but didn't take any pictures), and some were unofficial (like celebrating her last day off the bus). There were several sweet treats (of course) and lots of fun with friends.Let's see if I can remember what all we did.

On the last Friday, we were invited in for a student-led conference. All the parents gathered in the room. The kids sang several different songs they had learned throughout the year - usually learning songs set to common childhood songs. (think a song about bugs set to head shoulders knees and toes - head thorax abdomen, abdomen...)  The kids were very enthusiastic and had a very efficient method of switching places after each song. The front row line would quickly file out to the back, as the previous lines stepped up, allowing every child to be in front at least once! After songs, Hayden came over and talked to us about the work in her folder. Then the kids reconvened on the carpet for a snazzy rendition of "Happy." Afterwards, we met up with friends at Pelican's Snoballs - a place we'd always wanted to go to, but never had - and enjoyed 'New Orleans style' shaved ice treats. Yum!

H and her buds on the carpet before songs

sing with me - head thorax, abdomen, abdomen!

talking to Daddy about her work

snoballs!!!

SO many flavors - E chose cake batter and strawberry lemonade

M loved her pink cotton candy

 In the last couple weeks, H was very interested in having us come in to have lunch with her. E was also excited to do it, because she hadn't gotten a chance to eat lunch with H during the year. The first time, we were planning to come in, Eliza got sick and threw up in the morning, so we couldn't come in to have lunch. The second attempt, we came in a half hour earlier than lunch time (planning to help out in the library) and caught them coming back from lunch.  Testing had changed the schedules. The third time, we managed to make it at the right time, only b/c Hayden's teacher had texted me (at my request) the revised lunch time! Needless to say, after so many tries, it was especially exciting to finally get to sit down in the cafeteria with H for lunch!

H and some of her classmates

H and M (dontcha love M's face!)

 We also made a special occasion out of Hayden's last day of riding the bus. She rode the bus home from school 3-4 days a week, depending on after school activities but the last week of school she only ended up going one day. I met the bus in sunshine and pouring down rain, usually with the dog, often (but not always) with E and M (they sometimes had late naps). She always had the same bus driver, who always greeted me with a smile. I gave him some chocolate on the last day and a thank you note - and E wrote up her own note, copying some of my words and drawing a picture. We enjoyed our last day of sitting by the sidewalk, waiting for the bus.

getting comfy by the sidewalk

Blizz always hopped up to go out to the bus - she knew the routine

bus stop selfie! (again, M with the silly faces!)

and she finally arrives! (with book swap bag in hand)

 And of course, I took pictures on my last morning of driving the morning carpool. We enjoyed listening to Ivy and Bean over the final week. Check it out if you need a book about mischievous 7 year olds!   These two have grown up so much over the past year!

M is mad b/c I didn't want her in the first picture.

 Then on the last day of school, I took picks on the front porch as we waited for the carpool. Then in the afternoon, we skipped naps to pick Hayden up at 1:30 (early dismissal for last day) and headed out for ice cream.

All ready for second grade! What a year it's been!

M was SO pleased to be in the picture!

more goofiness from M

A newly minted second grader can totally rock a chocolate mustache. (She was quite pleased that I suggested chocolate fudge brownie for her flavor instead of plain chocolate!)

cookies and cream beard!

funky face while shoveling strawberry in her mouth (yes, she did drop the WHOLE cup of ice cream on the floor and I let her keep eating it.)

So first grade (for Hayden) is a wrap! Next year, second grade! The books are bigger, the words are longer, the science experiments more dangerous - or something like that. For now, we're just enjoying summer time. Let us know if you want to go on an adventure or go to the pool or just come over and play. We're available!

Who wouldn't want to hang out with these cuties this summer?!

End of Preschool

Preschool for Eliza and Molly ended the week before Memorial Day. Molly just had a splash day for her last school day. When I picked her up, she was wearing a snazzy tie-dyed t-shirt the kids had made in secret and has since become one of her favorite shirts to wear. (Which is okay since she is uber adorable in it!). Eliza's last day had a bit more ceremony as parents were invited in and the kids sang songs they had learned throughout the year.

sitting in one last circle time

After I picked E up on the very last day, the three of us went out to lunch at Elmo's to celebrate. I don't usually take the kids out to eat by myself, but we managed to have a pretty good time, even with Molly being her usual loud and bouncy self. As a special treat we ordered a chocolate milkshake that we split between the three of us. Eliza gobbled up her pancake and wished she had a second one, then proceeded to eat her applesauce, the remnants of grilled cheese from Molly, and french fries from me and THEN polish off a milkshake. Molly ate her applesauce (apparently I need to get applesauce more, because the kids think it's a great treat when we eat out!), a good portion of her grilled cheese, as many fries as she could sneak from me AND the milkshake. There wasn't really any food left on the table when we were done!

who doesn't want to celebrate with pancakes and applesauce!?

about to dig in

milkshake bliss

that's a thick one!

I can't believe the year is over already. Molly has her first year of school under her belt. Eliza had a fabulous year, even with several teacher changes. She'll be in the 5-day preK class next fall since we couldn't get early entry to work with the magnet school. (though I still might try to throw a hissy fit with the school system people downtown since my first one didn't work.) These kiddos are really growing up so fast!

the snazzy shirt!

one head-tilts, one stands stiff - they make a great team!

found them reading books together one day recently - they'd moved the stool and chair by the window all on their own

 Just two more days for Hayden and then it really is summer! (okay, not REALLY summer, that's on June 21st, as I keep discussing with Eliza. "is it summer?" well you are done with school. "is it summer now?" well it is hot. "is it summer now?" no, Hayden has two more days and then the real day is June 21st. "will it be summer then?" Yes, yes it will. ) We have all sorts of adventures planned!

Solo(ish) Adventures

While we love going on adventures with grandma and popop, sometimes we venture out on our own too. I try and find places to see or activities to do where I can easily manage having all three of them on my own. I don't always have enough hands to hold (though that happens even just while walking H into school!), but we manage pretty well. 

One gorgeous weekend morning in May, we finally headed out to visit the airport park. I'd heard really good things about it, but somehow we'd never been.  It was lovely! Part of it was the weather - it was a day that was hard to beat in terms of blue sky and perfect temperature - but the park was really fun. You could watch the planes take off or land, run around on a small sized runway, or play in the sand and do a little bit of climbing. We had a lovely time exploring all the different areas.

a plane!

wait for me guys!

here it comes...

watching patiently

there it goes

view of the play runways from the viewing deck

M tries to take off

excited face!

Right after preschool was over, Eliza, Molly and I headed back out to Jordan Lake to check out one more lake beach option before summer time. We found a nice little playground, a big grassy area and a nice long beach. The girls had fun splashing in the water and playing in the sand. We didn't stay long, but I'm sure we will be back!

Over Memorial Day weekend, we headed up to the museum to get a chance to play in the Build It! Bamboo! exhibit that was about to end. We weren't sure quite what to expect, but it turned out to be pretty cool. Hayden, in particular, really had a good time. Basically, the museum provided supplies of bamboo poles and rubber ties for visitors to create whatever sort of structure you could. Molly and Eliza preferred the professionally built teepee type climber that was strong enough for kids to climb on. Hayden and I worked to build our own smaller teepee version; Hayden was very intent on trying to add a swing to it. It was fun to watch her experiment with what sort of swing (a hoop? a rubber strap?) would be able to hold her weight. She did manage to pick her feet up briefly, but we definitely need a little more engineering training!

step 1 - tie these things together

testing her hoop swing

M and E play like monkeys

feet off the ground (just barely) on the strap swing

E wanted to try the strap swing too - we built that whole structure!

H finally on the strap swing on the professionally built climber

more monkeys

Adventures with Grandparents

This whole spring, Jason has been very busy finishing up his dissertation. This has meant staying at work late on weeknights and disappearing for long hours on the weekend. While the girls and I can manage on our own, it has been fun inviting Grandma and Popop along for various adventures as we've tried to entertain ourselves while Jason dissertates. We usually pick something outdoors, like a hike that's not too long with interesting features to keep the girls entertained, and head out in the morning.

Back in April, we headed out to Occoneechee Race Track for a bit of a hike. Though the weather was a bit chillier than we expected (and we had not dressed all that warmly), we had a fun time exploring the track and talking with the girls about the history of the place. Who knew Orange County, NC was once a hot bed of the racing world?! And the best part was heading up to a favorite local Mexican restaurant (closed in our neck of the woods due to a fire a while back) for lunch afterwards!

the map, so you can get an idea. we basically just walked the track.

heading down the old grandstand to the track

posing in front of the old starting line

the girls line up for treats from Popop

H grabbed the camera and insisted on taking my picture

The Eno River runs parallel to one side of the track, with several access pts. H wanted to document this. A man we met did not recommend swimming here, due to a sewage plant located close by upstream!

H took E's picture by one of the turn signs.

 At the beginning of May, we headed out to the West Point on the Eno for some exploration and water play. The girls were intrigued by the old buildings - Hayden really wanted to go into the one with the History of Photography exhibit, but it wasn't opened till the afternoon. It was fun to visit this area without the big Festival for the Eno going on; the spaces looked so different! The girls got their feet wet in the river, we did a little bit of hiking thru the woods, and even found a really cool teepee. Hayden will be doing a camp here this summer and I'm really excited to see how it goes.

checking out the old stuff/building

buttercups! (grip tightly or they slip!)

dipping toes in

pretty water over rocks

Even Blizzard got to come this time!

Checking out the view over the dam. What are they watching?....

Two chocolate labs having a BLAST chasing sticks into the water!

a little rock climbing (Popop took the long way around...)

the teepee we discovered in the woods!

This was the trip near Cinco de Mayo. We even let Jason meet us for lunch this time!

Our most recent trip we headed out to Jordan Lake to try and find a good beach spot for summer time visits. We went to one that had a short hiking trail that was accessible from the parking lot so we hiked first (just a mile) and then hit the playground and the beach. Despite cloudy weather, the girls had a great time playing in the water and the sand. We even managed a picnic lunch!We have been so lucky to have Grandma and Popop close by to join us on our adventures!

Heading off on the hike - wait for me!

a gorgeous old tree along the trail

find a bench? pose for a picture (with the map of course!)

somebody was being mean, and wouldn't pick up Molly

hand holding to make it to the finish line

playground by the lake

Aaaahhhh.... I'm slipping....!

tire swing by the lake

all suited up and headed into the water

splish splash!

somebody got cold really quick! (and someone else was really tired from the hike!)

Grandma snuggles warm you right up!

H even managed to make a drip castle.

Who knows where we will head next?!